Past Posts

Pointed + Shot

This homily was delivered on the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 16 June 2013.

Nobody likes a gatecrasher.

If I were organizing a party, I wouldn’t want anyone who’s not on my guest list to come barging into my party to mingle with the rest of my crowd. And if someone else were throwing a party in my honor, I’d probably feel pretty much the same way . I mean, it’s supposed to be my party, right? So I should be able to choose who gets to join it and who doesn’t. So you see, I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled if a bunch of uninvited and unwelcome guests suddenly showed up at the door—unless maybe they brought pizza, of course! Continue reading →

This is our fourth year to come up with an online retreat. Because of the work it entails, each year I swear to myself that it’s going to be the last. But every year each time I read the deeply personal and profound sharing posted by our online retreatants, I always end up changing my mind.

Actually, I always give a retreat or at the very least a talk every Lent anyway, but putting the content online requires reshaping the content to fit the online genre. Things are just done differently online, compared to a straightforward talk. Continue reading →

One look at the agenda, and I caught myself saying a quick prayer for my survival. The schedule for the five-day institute was packed; it was apparently designed for teenagers with raging hormones, not for middle-aged guys like me! Besides, the school year had just ended for us, and I was exhausted. Where was I going to grab the needed stamina to survive the week ahead? Continue reading →

The theme of your homecoming is Revolutionize. I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but I’m guessing it probably has to do with our Silver Jubilarians, Class 1986, who graduated just a month after the 1st EDSA People Power Revolution. Rumors have it that some of them haven’t quite forgiven the late Cardinal Sin because they had to cancel their graduation ball because of the popular uprising. But the good news is that the sisters are willing to sponsor your graduation ball 25 years later as long as you all promise to dance to the top Billboard dance tune of 1986, which, of course, is “Walk Like An Egyptian.” Continue reading →

Note: This homily was delivered to the High 1 students during their batch Mass last 18 January 2011.

Scientists have been conducting a series of mysterious experiments since the 1920s. And the research question has remained unsolved for the past 80 years. The question? “Can we walk a straight path if we can’t see what’s ahead of us?” Here are the results to three such experiments.

In 1928, three men left a barn on a very foggy day and set out to walk a straight path for a mile. This is how they ended up walking…

Note: This homily was delivered at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Candice Co on 15 January 2011.

Before I preside at a wedding, I usually make it a point to interview the couple to hear their story. I think it’s great to get a sense of how they met and how their relationship developed, and mine it for what message God may have for them and for us. Continue reading →

Note: This was the homily delivered on the wedding of Con and Telle last December 5, 2010 in Mary the Queen Parish.

When Kristelle and Conrad asked me to preside at their wedding, I immediately said “yes” because I usually like taking credit for marriages made in Xavier School. But the first time Kristelle and Conrad met was not even in our school, but in another one, where they found themselves in the same class off campus when they had to take 18 educational units in preparation for their licensure exam. Continue reading →

Note: Michel and Edith Rolins are the force behind ERDA Belgique, which has been supporting the work of Fr. Pierre Tritz, SJ’s work in ERDA. Here is an article based on an interview I conducted with them in their villa in Turnhout, Belgium.Continue reading →